The Dead Sea Scrolls: Fragile and Remarkable

IT was easy to agree with the curator of the new exhibition on the Dead Sea Scrolls at the New York Public Library. As he showed some visitors around, Dr. Leonard Singer Gold, the curator and chief of the library's Jewish division, remarked, "You'll see these scroll fragments are small, difficult to read and not particularly interesting visually."

That they are, all 12 of the small fragments of those precious documents from the time and place where the foundations of rabbinic Judaism were laid and where Christianity was born. They are faded with age, almost to the point of illegibility. They are so fragile they look as though they might crumble to dust before your eyes. How could anything so unprepossessing provoke such scholarly controversy and succeed as the centerpiece of a major cultural exhibition?

Yet there they are on display in environmentally controlled cases and under especially tight security, treated like crown jewels. It is their very insubstantial nature that makes them all the more remarkable, and believable, as tangible links between the present and a past that underlies the Judeo-Christian culture. Around them is an aura of authenticity that inspires awe and excites the imagination.

The exhibition, "The Dead Sea Scrolls: Ancient Civilization-Modern Scholarship," opened yesterday at the library and is to run through Jan. 8. As the billing suggests, there is more to the exhibition than the sampling of the scrolls themselves. On display are nearly 200 items, including artifacts from the Holy Land and books, maps and other materials illustrating the historical setting in which the scrolls were produced more than 2,000 years ago. The history is brought up to date with displays about the scrolls' discovery, which began in 1947, and the subsequent scholarship and disputes over their meaning.

But the eye keeps returning to the scroll fragments. The 12 pieces were selected by the Israel Antiquities Authority from approximately 1,000 in its collection in Jerusalem. They were first exhibited earlier this year at the Library of Congress in Washington. Next, they will travel to San Francisco for a show at the M. H. de Young Memorial Museum.

The discovery of the scrolls was one of the archeological sensations of this century. The first ones were found by Bedouin shepherds in caves on the northwestern shore of the Dead Sea, near a place called Qumran. Others were recovered later in other caves nearby. All were determined to have been written from 200 B.C. to A.D. 68.

In the exhibition, the scrolls and other materials are organized in three sections. The first depicts the world of Israel and Jewish history in which the scrolls were created. Then follows an examination of the scrolls as texts. Finally, the focus is on their discovery, interpretation and conservation.

The first section, the "World of the Scrolls," features a scroll known as the Prayer for King Jonathan, who is thought to have been the Hasmonean ruler Alexander Jannaeus (103-76 B.C.). It is accompanied by a large limestone urn, measuring cups, basketry and other objects of everyday life found at the discovery site. There are also maps of Jerusalem, as it was then and over the years, and a model of the Second Temple. The Role of the Essenes

As many scholars have concluded, the scrolls were produced by the Essenes, a Jewish sect that was at odds with the religious establishment in Jerusalem. The ruins at Qumran are generally believed to be the remains of an Essene settlement. The writings of ancient historians, including Pliny the Elder and Flavius Josephus, are cited in the exhibition to support the Qumran-Essene connection.

Like so many aspects of the scrolls, this is a matter of dispute. Dr. Norman Golb, a professor of Jewish history and civilization at the University of Chicago, has argued that the scrolls come from a variety of sources, not the Essenes alone, and had probably been removed from Jerusalem and stashed in the caves for safe keeping at the time of the Jewish revolt against the Romans in the first century A.D. He has written letters to the library complaining that his position was not represented in the exhibition.

The pamphlet for the display does note that "other scholars have interpreted the find differently." Asked about Dr. Golb's complaint, Dr. Gold said, "In my humble opinion, we gave him the amount of attention his view deserves." How the Bible Was Made

The next section deals more directly with the importance of the scrolls as texts pertaining to every book of the Hebrew Bible except Esther. The scroll fragments on view include portions of Leviticus, Psalms and the Hosea Commentary. These are nearly 1,000 years older than the earliest Hebrew Bible manuscripts previously known, and so give scholars many insights into the preparation of the Bible.

For comparison, two later versions from the New York library's collection are shown: the medieval Xanten Bible in Hebrew (1294) and the famous Gutenberg Bible in Latin (1455).

Other scrolls on display include original Hebrew or Aramaic versions of the Apocrypha, writings that did not make the final cut for the Bible, and other writings whose authorship was ascribed to early biblical figures. One example is a fragment of the Book of Enoch in Aramaic. Others include excerpts from what is known as the Manual of Discipline, describing the rules of conduct of the religious community that was presumably responsible for the documents and how they interpreted Jewish law differently from other sects. Scholarly Tussling

In the final section of the exhibition, there is a scroll known as the War Rule. It refers to a Messiah and to a killing in terms that have provoked heated debate among scrolls scholars. They say the scroll, also called the Pierced Messiah text, apparently does not make clear who killed or was killed.

Interpretation of the texts is only one recent controversy, as the exhibition duly notes. In the first years after their discovery, most of the best-preserved scrolls were promptly transcribed, translated and published. Then the international team of editors slowed its pace, frustrating other scholars who were denied access to the material and eventually leading to a well-publicized revolt in recent years. The monopoly on access to the remaining material was broken two years ago when scroll photographs held by the Huntington Library in San Marino, Calif., were made available to all scholars.

At a preview of the exhibition, Gen. Amir Drori, the director of the Israel Antiquities Authority, said that with the addition of more editors, full publication of the scrolls should be completed in 1997. In the meantime, he said, "if you are a qualified scholar, write to me and you're welcome to examine any scrolls; no problem." Many scholars who have been left out are certain to hold him to his word.

But nonscholars will be satisfied by these rewarding glimpses of the Dead Sea Scrolls at the New York Public Library. Where and When

"The Dead Sea Scrolls: Ancient Civilization-Modern Scholarship," an exhibition of more than 100 items discovered during the 1940's and 50's, is to be on view through Jan. 8 in the Gottesman Exhibition Hall of the New York Public Library, Fifth Avenue and 42d Street. The display includes 12 scroll fragments and other artifacts from the Israel Antiquities Authority, as well as items from the library's collection. After its display at the library, the exhibition is to be on view from Feb. 26 to May 8 at the M. H. de Young Memorial Museum in San Francisco.

Free same-day passes, good for viewings on the half-hour, will be distributed at the start of each day in Astor Hall; there is a maximum of six tickets per person.

Hours: Monday and Thursday through Saturday, 10 A.M. to 6 P.M.; Tuesday and Wednesday, 11 A.M. to 6 P.M.; Sunday, noon to 5 P.M. The library will be closed on Monday for Columbus Day, and also on Veteran's Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years. Information: (212) 221-7220.

Correction:

A brief notice in Weekend yesterday headed "Where and When," about the New York Public Library exhibition on the Dead Sea Scrolls, misstated the library's telephone number. It is (212) 661-7220.

We are continually improving the quality of our text archives. Please send feedback, error reports,
and suggestions to archive_feedback@nytimes.com.

A version of this article appears in print on October 8, 1993, on Page C00001 of the National edition with the headline: The Dead Sea Scrolls: Fragile and Remarkable. Order Reprints|Today's Paper|Subscribe